Lift Your Voice: Engaging Black America

In the wake of the 50th anniversary of the Mississippi Summer Project or Freedom Summer, yesterday I was faced with showing my state issued identification to cast my ballot in the primaries. A flood of thoughts rushed my mind – from thoughts of listening to my grandmother speak about paying poll taxes to cast her vote to recalling many of the readings and audio and video images where Blacks and Whites alike stormed Mississippi so that people who looked like me could fully participate in this democratic society. And so, in the spirit of Fannie Lou Hamer, I dressed the part yesterday – put on my finest clothes and with my freedom in my hands (or in my pocket because that is where I keep my identification) – only to arrive at the precinct to be told I could not vote because the poll worker could not verify my residency – “can you show me your bills? Something that let me know you indeed live at this address?” As I recall, the state of Mississippi’s voter identification law is to verify that I am who I say I am – and that I am indeed listed on the books, so what’s the problem? The problem is the voter identification law can lead to voter suppression, can limit a people’s right to fully participate in democracy. Contrary to Fannie Lou Hamer, the law was on my side; he was corrected by an older white female poll worker…

We have indeed come a very long way in a very short period of time – 50 years – and there is still room to grow; still battles to fight, still hills to climb and victories to grab. The potential for voter suppression exists, and still we march, maybe not as before, but we march via social media, spreading the message through Twitter, Facebook, and any other media we can find. We march through the communities with information sessions, community and church meetings, we march, perhaps more behind the scenes, but the key is that we all continue to march toward freedom…

I’m back, really, this time, I’m back. After several months of hibernation and let’s hit the ground running with the relaunch. If you want to know me, know these five things: 1) Love family; 2) Love food; 3) Love television; 4) Love sports; and 5) Love politics. And there are times where all five collide and ***BOOM!*** and there are other times where the combination echoes a beautiful and sweet symphony.

Music to my ears, and many civil rights activists’ ears, was President Obama’s launch of the “My Brother’s Keeper” Initiative. Aaron Dorfman, Executive Director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, says of the initiative “Something major just happened in philanthropy. It is certainly the most significant and strategic development so far in 2014, and it just might prove to be the most important thing that happens in our sector all year.” MBK is a public-private venture to confront…

I’m back, really, this time, I’m back. After several months of hibernation and let’s hit the ground running with the relaunch. If you want to know me, know these five things: 1) Love family; 2) Love food; 3) Love television; 4) Love sports; and 5) Love politics. And there are times where all five collide and ***BOOM!*** and there are other times where the combination echoes a beautiful and sweet symphony.

Music to my ears, and many civil rights activists’ ears, was President Obama’s launch of the “My Brother’s Keeper” Initiative. Aaron Dorfman, Executive Director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, says of the initiative “Something major just happened in philanthropy. It is certainly the most significant and strategic development so far in 2014, and it just might prove to be the most important thing that happens in our sector all year.” MBK is a public-private venture to confront and tackle the most pressing issues young boys and males of color face. Ten of the nation’s leading, and as Dorfman describes, “courageous” philanthropic organizations have committed approximately $150 million to improving the lives and opportunities for males of color. La June Montgomery-Tabron, President/CEO of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation noted that “for more than 20 years, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) has funded initiatives to improve the plight of young men and boys of color. Eight years ago, a group of public officials, scholars and community leaders known as the Dellums Commission identified public policies around the country that curtailed opportunities, and recommended comprehensive remedies.” The Open Society Foundations “welcome and are heartened by the president’s commitment and recognition that a key part of the effort to increase opportunity for all Americans, regardless of race and gender, is to focus explicitly on helping boys and men of color succeed.”

There have been much criticism to the President and these foundations’ commitment; nonetheless, what is obvious here is that of all, Black and Latino males face significant challenges. Race matters and so does gender. As Jonah Goldberg points out, 1 in 15 Black males are in prison, and there’s something systemically and inherently problematic about the dark statistics – inasmuch that it is no longer a Black or Brown issue, but an American concern. And this initiative should speak to many on the right – I Corinthians 12:26 – “And whether one member suffer, all the members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice with it.”

As for President Obama, who has been excoriated for either not doing enough for Blacks and even not being Christian enough has used such an initiative to address some of his biggest and harshest criticisms through MBK. God, in Gensis 4:9 asked of Cain “And the LORD said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother? And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper?” Through this program, the government and the private sector have come together, to address a pressing and growing concern. This is not a handout, but an extension of the resources and services that generally evade a people – Black and Brown individuals generally face systemic barriers and challenges and being born in and growing up in an inner city or a rural isolated, under-resourced area should not limit people’s ability to acquire life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Lest we forget, America was not born out of individualism…Thus, whether you are Black, White, Brown, Orange, Purple, Blue, Christian, Muslim, Atheist, Agnostic, etc. if you believe in the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness, for all of us the response to the question of “Am I my brother’s keeper” is a resounding YES!